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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic “Rarity Investigates” Review

I’m sure many were truly shocked to see another Rarity episode appear so soon. The previous one, “Canterlot Boutique,” put the fabulous pony in a new kind of business situation. It had a few negatives but overall it was definitely solid. This time, we have her demonstrate a skill no pony or viewer knew she had: mystery solving. The previous episode to deal with a detective case was way back in Season 2: “MMMystery on the Friendship Express. ““Rarity Investigates” is definitely just as entertaining as “Express,” though does suffer from the obvious culprit. Still, it’s a lot of fun.

Here’s the official description from Discovery Family:

When Rainbow Dash is accused of a crime she didn’t commit, it falls on Rarity to prove her friend is innocent.

It was nice seeing Sassy Saddles and Rarity in the Canterlot Boutique, nicely continuing the story from the previous episode. It’s always great seeing plot developments be brought up again. (We’ll never forget you Coco Pommel! Actually, I just found out that the next episode will feature her, so props!) Despite being technically a Rarity episode in name, this is actually just as much a Rainbow Dash one. In fact, this could be labeled a team-up like Pinkie Pie and Rainbow’s adventure in “The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone.” I find the duo in this week’s story particularly interesting because the two have never really had that many one-on-one friendship moments. Another thing is that many consider Applejack and Rarity to be polar opposites. But I think Rainbow and the latter might be even more so. After all these years it’s nice to see an episode starring the two.

The last time the duo of Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco wrote an episode was a few months back in “Castle Sweet Castle.”“Rarity Investigates” is along the same lines of quality though does have a couple of negative moments. Rarity conning the mailman to help her out seemed like the complete opposite of her element, generosity. Also, I think the Wonderbolts are way too quick to attack Rainbow Dash over the disappearance of Spitfire. Rainbow has done quite a bit for them in the past, yet they make it seem like she’s a complete stranger. Besides those two moments, the episode remains immensely entertaining. The actual mystery part is of course the most engaging due to the unique narration by Rarity. Sadly, the episode falls into a classic deus ex machina of mysteries.

Wind Rider was a pretty solid character from his intro. A retired Wonderbolt, giving the outlook of knowledge all around equals a pretty solid character. Unfortunately with this episode there should be a meme with the tagline: “New character in mystery episode? Automatic culprit.” The actual road to the realization for the characters was worth the watch despite that. Rarity makes for a fantastic detective, and the show’s format for it makes the mystery shine. It would have been better to have the mystery outcome not be so obvious though. Then, this has to make me question Equestraia’s police and jail system. Wind Rider lies in official business, attempts frame, and sends Spitfire on a wild goose chase where she came back exhausted. Plus, he shows no remorse. We need police ponies!

Overall, a very entertaining episode. Rarity and Rainbow Dash make an interesting and dynamic pairing. Rarity as a detective was absolutely fantastic. The noir style narration was some of the best dialogue from the show yet. Wind Rider is a good character in the making but by the end is just used as the obvious culprit.

OUR RATING

8

+Rarity as a detective!

+Rarity and Rainbow Dash team-up

-Obvious end to mystery

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Ian

On the topic of Rarity and the delivery pony, here’s a quote from EQD’s episode followup that may help paint the scene in a different light:

“I consider having the right words for the right situations to be one of Rarity’s consistent, if understated strengths, and it came to the fore in force for this episode. Even if her delivery occasionally falters (how do you come back to somepony telling you what boxes are shaped like?), the only reason she’s able to get away with it so often is because she chooses her angles based on careful attention to detail and — absolutely up for debate here — genuine empathy. Not once did the episode attempt to cast Rarity’s appeals as manipulative or under-hoofed, showing that persuasiveness and charisma aren’t inherently hollow traits. For the target audience, that’s a powerful lesson.”